Rah Ahan Yazdan F.C.
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| Full name | Rah Ahan Yazdan Sports Club | ||
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| Nickname(s) | Crystal Boys (Persian: كريستالي ها) |
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| Founded | 2 January 1937 | ||
| Ground | Shahr-e Qods Stadium (currently) Rah Ahan Stadium |
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| Capacity | 25,000 12,000 |
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| Owner | Peyman Kianian | ||
| Chairman | Babak Afshar | ||
| Head Coach | Ioannis Topalidis | ||
| League | Azadegan League | ||
| 2015–16 | Persian Gulf Pro League, 15th (relegated) | ||
| Website | Club home page | ||
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Rah Ahan Yazdan Football Club (Persian: باشگاه فوتبال راهآهن یزدان) is an Iranian football club based in Tehran. They currently play in the Azadegan League. Rah Ahan is one of the oldest Iranian football clubs.
Contents
History
Establishment
Rah Ahan was formed in 1937 in Tehran by Iran Railways but they have since been bought by Qeshm Air. They are one of the oldest Iranian football clubs still in existence. In 1939 Rah Ahan participated in the Tehran Local League for the first time. Their first official match was on 4 January 1940 against Bazargani F.C., they won the game 11–0.
1950s
During the World War in the 1940s Rah Ahan dissolved its football operations, it was not until the 1950s when Rah Ahan restarted its football team. After its re-establishment the club under the name of Pirouz played on the dirt pitches near the railway station. The players of the team composed of the Railway workers. In 1955 with the arrival of Rasoul Madadnavi from Tabriz, the club was again renamed to Rah Ahan and began to attract players from outside the railway company. After achieving good results in the 1958 season Rah Ahan was promoted to the 1st Division Tehran League, but due to new restrictions regarding private clubs in the Tehran Local Leagues, the club was denied the right to compete and eventually ceased its operations.
Pre Revolution
In 1963 Rah Ahan was again re-established and were placed in the 2nd Division Tehran Local League, in 1966 Rah Ahan was finally promote to the top division of the Tehran Local Leagues. In 1973 the Takht Jamshid Cup, Iran's first national league, was founded. In their first two years in the Cup, Rah Ahan finished a respectable 7th and 9th. In 1976 they were relegated to the 2nd Division. In their only season in the 2nd Division, Rah Ahan finished 1st in the league and were again promoted to the Takht Jamshid Cup. In 1978 they were again relegated to the 2nd Division, but they could not finish the 2nd Division season because of the Iranian Revolution.
Iran Pro League
After the establishment of the Iran Pro League in 2001, Rah Ahan was placed in the second tier Azadegan League. In 2005 Rah Ahan was promoted to the Iran Pro League after a second-place finish in the Azadegan League. Since then they have mostly been an average team where they have finish in the mid table but since the arrival of Ansarifard as the chairman they have looked more stable. They finished 11th in the 2008–09 season and avoided the relegation in the season after on the last week.
Ali Daei
In 2012–13 season and under Ali Daei, and with him at charge the team got out to an early start, and were 4th in the Iran Pro League after the opening few weeks, after that the team had an average year, dropping to 8th by season's end. In the same year they went on tour in Turkey, beating Galatasaray A2 4–1, and losing to Super Lig side Istanbul BB 3–2. At the end of the 2012–13 season Ali Daei left Rah Ahan to sign with Persepolis.
Trouble Years
Mansour Ebrahimzadeh was announced as Rah Ahan's new manager for the 2013–14 season, with him at charge Rah Ahan finished an average 11th place. At the end of the season, Ebrahimzadeh announced that he is stepping down as Rah Ahan's manager. Former Persepolis manager Hamid Estili was named as his replacement. Rah Ahan encountered severe financial problems and under Estili the club performed poorly, shortly after Estili was fired and replaced with former Rah Ahan player Farhad Kazemi.
Season-by-season
For details on seasons, see List of Rah Ahan F.C. seasons
| Season | Div. | League | Position | Hazfi Cup | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001–02 | 2 | Azadegan League | 8th | ||
| 2002–03 | 2 | Azadegan League | 11th | ||
| 2003–04 | 2 | Azadegan League | 11th | ||
| 2004–05 | 2 | Azadegan League | 2nd | Promoted | |
| 2005–06 | 1 | Iran Pro League | 13th | ||
| 2006–07 | 1 | Iran Pro League | 16th | 1/16 Final | |
| 2007–08 | 1 | Iran Pro League | 12th | Quarterfinal | |
| 2008–09 | 1 | Iran Pro League | 11th | Final | |
| 2009–10 | 1 | Iran Pro League | 14th | 1/16 Final | |
| 2010–11 | 1 | Iran Pro League | 15th | 1/16 Final | |
| 2011–12 | 1 | Iran Pro League | 11th | 1/16 Final | |
| 2012–13 | 1 | Iran Pro League | 8th | 1/8 Final | |
| 2013–14 | 1 | Iran Pro League | 11th | 1/4 Final | |
| 2014–15 | 1 | Iran Pro League | 12th | 1/8 Final |
Reserves
The table below shows the achievements of the club's reserve team in various competitions.
| Season | League | Position | Hazfi Cup |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010–11 | 3rd Division | 9th/Group 2 | Did not qualify |
| 2011–12 | Tehran Provincial League | 7th/Group 1 | Did not qualify |
| 2012–13 | Tehran Provincial League | 7th/Group 1 | Did not qualify |
| 2013–14 | Tehran Provincial League | 1st/Group 1 | Did not qualify |
First-team squad
As of 19 January 2016[1]
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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Loan list
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
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For recent transfers, see List of Iranian football transfers winter 2015–16.
Former players
For details on former players, see Category:Rah Ahan players.
Famous players
Managers
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IPL managers
Last updated 18 February 2015.
| Name | Nat | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| Firouz Karimi |  |
June 2004 | February 2006 |
| Abbas Razavi | |
February 2006 | November 2006 |
| Akbar Misaghian | |
December 2006 | February 2008 |
| Davoud Mahabadi | |
February 2008 | October 2008 |
| Mahmoud Yavari | |
October 2008 | April 2009 |
| Mehdi Tartar | |
April 2009 | June 2009 |
| Ernie Brandts |  |
July 2009 | December 2009 |
| Mehdi Tartar | |
December 2009 | June 2010 |
| Rasoul Korbekandi | |
June 2010 | September 2010 |
| Mehdi Tartar | |
September 2010 | July 2011 |
| Ali Daei | |
July 2011 | May 2013 |
| Mansour Ebrahimzadeh | |
July 2013 | June 2014 |
| Hamid Estili | |
June 2014 | February 2015 |
| Ali Latifi (Interim) | |
February 2015 | February 2015 |
| Farhad Kazemi | |
February 2015 | September 2015 |
| Mehdi Tartar | |
September 2015 | February 2016 |
| Ioannis Topalidis |  |
February 2016 | Present |
Coaching staff
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| Head Coach | Ioannis Topalidis |
| Assistant Coach | Morteza Kermani Moghaddam |
| Assistant Coach | Reza Shahroudi |
| Goalkeeping Coach |  Niko Sternberg |
| Athletic Coach | Dominic Palmer |
| Doctor | Mohammad Ali Zare |
| Analyzer |  Raymond Le Gall |
| Sporting director | Behnam Abolghasempour |
| Academy President | Mahmoud Kolhar |
| B team Coach | Edmond Bezik |
Board
| Position | Name |
|---|---|
| President | Alireza Rahimi |
| Vice President | Kazem Amani Ghadim |
| CEO | Rostam Zandi Hadji Abadi |
Asia clubs ranking
- As of 14 September 2014 [2]
| Current Rank | Country | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 94 |  |
Persiba Balikpapan |
| 95 |  |
AC Omonia |
| 96 |  |
Changchun Yatai |
| 97 |  |
Gyeongnam F.C. |
References
- ↑ 2013–14 squad
- ↑ http://footballdatabase.com/ranking/asia – footballdatabase.com
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rah Ahan FC. |
